An annual Health Ministry report shows that since 2009 only 700 general admission beds have been added throughout Israel. There are now 1.87 beds per 1,000 people as compared to 1.91 per 1,000 people at the end of 2010 and 2.09 per 1,000 at the end of 2005. The main reason for the decline is the population growth.
This alarming trend is not just prevalent regarding general beds. There has been a decline in the number of rehab beds available too; recording a 9% decline since 2009, now standing at 0.09 beds per 1,000 people. Regarding psychiatric beds, there has been a 7% decline in beds since 2009 now standing at 0.43 per 1,000 people.
There are now 25,000 beds for the chronically ill, which generally refers to the elderly. While that population continues to grow, the number of beds declined 9% since 2009.
There are 1,588 day admission beds of which 1,108 are for general admissions, 303 for psychiatric, 105 for prolonged illnesses and 72 rehab. Jerusalem received additional beds. Shaare Zedek Medical Center has 238 additional beds in its main building while its affiliate Bikur Cholim Hospital lost 101 beds as the latter shut down many services. Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer has 1,066 general beds followed by Ichilov with 1,045, Beilinson with 1,031, Soroka with 1,013 and Rambam with 902.
Ministry officials warn Israel is lagging behind compared to other OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) nations while hospital admissions continue to increase. The average among OECD countries is 3.4 beds per 1,000 people.
Shmulik Ben-Yaakov, CEO of the Patients Right Organization adds that 700 additional beds in the past five years is insufficient and that number does not permit treating patients as they should. He laments how the patients are the first to feel this, too often lying in hallways and corridors as the units are full well beyond capacity.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
There isn’t a hospital in Bet Shemesh. That’s a decent sized city & the nearest hospitals are Jerusalem or Kaplan in Rehovot (where I wouldn’t send a dog) Maybe if we got a hospital it would help.
Of c
Of course there is no beds because we gave them to the head of Hamas daughter to come and use it
#israelgottausecommonsense
computerbubby-
They should probably build a highway (with shoulders) for Beit Shemesh first. I could just see eight ambulances stuck in bumper to bumper traffic backed up to Eshtaol, trying to get dying patients to the Beit Shemesh Hospital.
I think Kaplan is a fine hospital, and even if you don’t, at least it’s accessible.
Maybe if we stopped hospitalizing Arabs from Syria, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip, there would be more room for the Israelis.
Israel wants to be “humane” but in the end Israelis really suffer. Like Chazel say, whoever shows kindness to the wicked will end up being mean to the good people. We see this so often in Israel.